Author's Note
Hey guys, welcome to my first one shot.
I was watching the Monday Blues short and the idea for this popped into my head. I couldn't get it out of my head so I just decided to write it. Hope you enjoy.
Need a Lift
Today was not going well.
That was the thought that rushed through Twilight Sparkle's head, as she ran down the street in the pouring rain on her way to school. She had missed the bus and was now racing at her top speed so as not to be late for her first class.
Despite how much she loved learning and how much she doubly loved going to her new school, on days like today Twilight wished she could trade places with her dog Spike and spend her day lounging around doing nothing and snacking on doggy treats.
Looking down at her phone, Twilight grew concerned as the time ticked by.
By her estimates, depending on her own knowledge of miles per hour speed and the distance between her house and school, she should arrive there approximately one minute and twenty seven seconds before the first bell. That is as long as there weren't any unforeseen obstacles in her way.
Unknown to her, a car was rolling down the road towards her.
It was a custom painted Camaro sports car with mainly black paint, with yellow lightning bolts painted down the sides and on the hood was the image of a shield with a lightning bolt running down it.
The driver of the car was a teenage boy with yellowy orange skin and navy blue hair. He wore a black jacket over a white shirt that had the same lightning shield emblem as the cars hood.
The teen, Flash Sentry, was enjoying listening to a popular song over his car's radio when he spotted a certain someone running through the rain. Even from behind he recognised the girl almost instantly.
Twilight Sparkle had shown up in his life like a tornado, appearing out of nowhere followed by a whirlwind of mayhem and anarchy, before disappearing back into thin air. However the Twilight he was thinking of wasn't the one currently getting soaked in the rain, but a shapeshifting princess from an alternative world.
Flash still felt the pain of her not being around, not helped by the presence of a girl that looks almost exactly like her but had absolutely no interest in even looking at him. Then there was the fact that she was now in a relationship of sorts with a counsellor she had met while attending summer camp, something he was pretty sure broke camp etiquette, meaning that even if he could get her to notice him, there was no way anything special could come from it.
A small section of his heart told him to simply keep driving and leave it at that, but it was quickly overpowered by every other section of his heart that told him to help those in need.
Twilight was once again looking down at the time, when she noticed a car she didn't recognise drive passed before pulling up to the curb a few feet infront of her.
Moving up to the car, she noticed the passenger door open, causing her to look inside and see a boy she did recognise. Flash Sentry.
She remembered first bumping into him the first time she went to CHS, followed by a few more run ins afterwards. Back then she had been so focused on finding the unusual energy she now knew was magic, that she hadn't paid him much mind. That was until they had all gone to Camp Everfree, where her friend Sunset had explained how he had a crush on her pony counterpart. Hearing that had made her think back to the times he had tried to speak to her and made her realise how much that must have hurt him, but even so she could never find the right time to properly apologies to him.
Now here he was, parked up and looking out at her from the dry confines of his admittedly pretty impressive sports car.
"Need a lift?" He asked, a sheepish grin plastered on his face.
Twilight considered her options. Though she didn't know this guy all that well, she did know he wasn't someone bad. The few people she had heard talking about him, never had a bad word to say about him. He was also quite intelligent as whenever they had a pop quiz, she would see his name on the score board only a few places bellow hers. Plus he was offering her a way to school which would both get her there quicker and let her stay out of the rain.
Smiling, she nodded before closing her umbrella and climbing into the car.
Once she was buckled in, Flash kicked the engine back into gear and drove off.
Some librarians would have been uncomfortable with the silence that hung in the air, as the two didn't dare say a word to one another and simply enjoyed the ride while listening to the sound of the rain taping against the car.
Finally Twilight couldn't take it anymore and turned her head towards Flash. "Thank you," she said, unsure how to talk to him.
"Don't mention it," Flash said, "wouldn't be a Canterlot Wondercolt if I let one of my teammates catch pneumonia."
Twilight giggled at this, feeling herself loosen up enough for the idea of chatting with him not to be uncomfortable. "Still I appreciate it. I'd hate to think what would have happened if you hadn't come along."
"What were you doing walking to school in this weather anyway?" Flash asked her.
"I didn't intend to," Twilight said, "but the bus was early and I missed it."
Flash chuckled, a sound Twilight admitted was nice to hear. "I know that feeling."
"You do?" Twilight asked, before she realised that if Flash was driving to school from the city then it stands to reason he lived there. "Do you live around here?"
"Yeah," Flash said, "on Hoof Road."
Hoof Road, that was only a few blocks away from her house.
"So why do you go to CHS?" Twilight asked, "I've seen your grades and no doubt you would have gotten into Crystal Prep."
Flash looked a little uncomfortable talking about that. "My mom originally intended to enrol me there, but when I saw how uptight the place was I begged her to send my to CHS."
Twilight understood that, as memories flowed through her head of how focused on academics the students of her old school were, her included. But even so, the fact he would be willing to take a forty five minute bus ride out of the city was surprising. Sure she also did it, but she was almost seventeen and he must have been doing it since he started high school.
"So you took the bus to and from school everyday for at least three years?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah," Flash said, "until I passed my drivers test, then my mom got me this car."
That was understandable.
"So what does your mom do?" Twilight asked.
"She a lawyer," Flash replied, "one of the best. She has this knack for knowing if someone is guilty or innocent."
"She ever been wrong?" Twilight asked.
"Nope," Flash said, "just last year she had a case where all the evidence pointed to the guy she was defending, but she was able to get him off. Three weeks later the real criminal was caught and sent down, but he would have gotten away if my mom hadn't been on the case."
"Impressive," Twilight asked, "what about your dad?"
Once again Flash's face turned sour, making Twilight realise she's just stumbled upon an uncomfortable topic.
"He died when I was ten," Flash said.
Twilight's heart almost stopped hearing this. "I'm sorry."
"No it's fine," he said as he forced a smile, "you didn't know."
"How did it happen?"
"Heart attack," Flash said, "stress from work. He was an archaeologist working for the museum. Long hours and little relaxation, make anyone keel over."
Twilight wasn't sure if that was a joke to liven the mood or not, so once again they were reduced to uncomfortable silence.
"What about your parents?" It was Flash's turn to try and get a conversation going, which Twilight appreciated.
"My mom's a book editor," she told him, "but she sometimes writes columns for magazines and newspapers."
"Cool," Flash replied, "she edit anything I might have read?"
"I don't know," Twilight said as a smirk appeared on her face, "you ever read Daring Do?"
It took ever ounce of willpower she had not to crack up at the sight of Flash's face as he turned to her.
"You serious?" He said in shock, "your mother edits Daring Do?"
"Yeap," Twilight replied with a smile, "I think that's what started my love of reading. Once I was curious about what she was doing so when she wasn't looking I took her laptop and read what was on it. I didn't give it back until I'd read the whole thing. Mom wasn't happy."
Flash chuckled again. "Still it's pretty impressive," he said, "to think I know someone who knows someone who knows AK Yearling."
"You're taking it better then Rainbow took it," Twilight explained, "she fainted when I told her that."
Flash snickered at this. "I can see that happening. So what about your dad?"
"He's an accountant," Twilight replied, "perfect job for him."
"Is he where you get your over organised neat freak nature from?" Flash joked, making Twilight roll her eyes.
"I'll have you know there's no such thing as over organised," Twilight replied, "without being organised, life would be nothing but havoc and chaos."
"Sounds like fun," Flash said.
The two of them laughed at that comment, all the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings about the situation forgotten.
For the next several minutes they talked about anything that came to mind, learning new things about each other.
Twilight learned that even though Flash was a talented guitar player and singer, he was actually training to eventually go into law enforcement with the dream of one day becoming a detective. Twilight was impressed by this, her brother Shining being a police captain taught her just how difficult a career path it was.
Flash meanwhile learned that Twilight was considering becoming a teacher. To Flash it made perfect sense, since learning everything she knew would be pointless without someone to later teach it to. Twilight smiled when he told her that, the thought of becoming a teacher suddenly becoming more appealing for some reason.
Twilight was having so much fun, that she didn't even realise they had arrived at school until Flash pulled into the parking lot and parked in his usual space.
"Oh," she said seeing the large building, "we're here."
"Yeap," Flash said as he cut the engine, before he looked up at the rain clouds and rolled his eyes. "Typical," he said, "looks like the rains about to stop."
"Seriously," Twilight said as she looked up at the sky.
"The forecast said it's suppose to be on and off all day," Flash told her.
"Really hope its off when school ends," Twilight said, "hate to have to stand in the rain waiting for the bus."
Flash smirked at that, knowing how that felt, when an idea popped into his head. "Well...I could um...drive you home."
Twilight turned to him, surprised by his offer.
"I don't mind," Flash said sheepishly, "we obviously live close by, so it wouldn't be that much of a detour to take you."
Twilight smiled at him, before nodding. "Sure," she told him, "I'd like that."
"Great," Flash said as he looked out the window at the still pouring rain, "so you wanna brave it or just sit here and wait to see if it stops."
Twilight looked down at her phone and saw that there was now five minutes until the bell was to ring, before looking back at Flash. "Give it a few minutes," she said, "then brave it." And so they did, waiting a for four of the five minutes until deciding they had to get wet or be late.
They got out of the car and huddled together under Twilight's umbrella as they raced to the building.
While doing so, they spotted Sunset Shimmer running to school from the opposite direction.
"Hey guys," Sunset said as she looked between them with a confused look. "Did you two come to school together?"
"Flash gave me a lift," Twilight said as she pulled the red and yellow haired girl under the umbrella, "way better then racing here in the rain."
"Tell me about it," Sunset said, obviously having just experienced that exact situation.
As the three made it to the front door, they noticed the rain finally stop and the sun come out.
"Oh come on," Flash said with a smile on his face, which Sunset and Twilight shared.
They headed inside and Flash finally separated from the girls, his homeroom being different from theirs, but before he left he told Twilight he'd be by his car after school.
"He's giving you a ride home too?" Sunset asked.
"It's no big deal," Twilight said, " he lives nearby and he offered to take me home so I wouldn't have to stand out in the rain."
"Sounds like something Flash would do," Sunset said with a smile.
Twilight returned it. Despite the rainy start, today was turning out like one of the best. She had gotten the chance to get to know Flash and even though she hadn't been able to apologies for how she acted during their first meeting, she knew she could definitely count him as a friend from now on. And though she wouldn't admit it to herself, there maybe a chance for something more between them in the future. Maybe.